Violations of Trucking Regulations Lawsuit 2024 | Things You Must Know
According to injury facts, more than 71% of all deaths from large truck accidents are occupants in other vehicles involved in the accident rather than those operating the accident. If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a truck accident, you must seek legal help immediately by filing a Violations of Trucking Regulations Lawsuit.
Types of compensation in truck accident damages
Filing violations of trucking regulations lawsuit helps you get compensation for your financial, physical, and psychological injuries, also known as damages.
1. Economic damages:
It includes the damages that are easily quantified by monetary loss. You can demand compensation for your injury-related expenses and losses, such as:
- Lost wages.
- Medical supplies for at home.
- Mental health care, such as therapy.
- Past and future medical expenses.
- Reduced earning capacity.
- Transportation costs to and from medical appointments.
2. Non-economic damages:
Not all injuries after a truck crash are tangible and have a direct monetary value. In non-economic damages, you will be able to receive compensation for the following:
- Emotional distress.
- Mental anguish.
- New physical limitations.
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Scarring and disfigurement.
3. Punitive Damages:
These types of compensation for violations of truck accident regulations are available only in certain circumstances. Top truck accident lawyers will help establish that the defendant acted recklessly, maliciously, or fraudulently. In most cases, the punitive damages are twice greater than the number of economic damages. This amount could range from $75,000 to $200,000.
Commercial vehicle insurance requirements
Federal law requires commercial trucks to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance based on the size of the truck and the type of cargo it carries. The amount of coverage should be as follows:
- For-hire passenger carriers (seating capacity >15): $5,000,000.
- For-hire passenger carriers (seating capacity ≤15): $1,500,000.
- For-hire and private carriers of other hazardous substances: $5,000,000.
- For-hire and private carriers of oil and certain types of hazardous waste: $1,000,000.
- For-hire interstate general freight carriers: $750,000.
Commercial trucks need to meet the state’s minimum liability insurance requirements, which may differ from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations. Therefore, if you are injured in a crash with a truck, the top lawyers will help you investigate the truck driver and trucking company’s insurance coverage. As most commercial trucks and drivers are covered by liability policies with minimums that are higher than personal auto coverage, you may have a better chance of receiving a fair settlement in a Violations of Trucking Regulations Lawsuit claim.
The process of truck accident claim
If you or your loved ones have been hurt or lost in a truck wreck, it’s essential to get medical attention immediately. Then, hire an experienced personal injury law firm right away. Here is a summary of the most important steps to take when filing a truck accident lawsuit.
1. Investigate what happened:
Before filing a Violations of Trucking Regulations Lawsuit, you need to take steps to preserve and collect any evidence available. For this, obtain a copy of the police accident report. Try to gather any footage of the crash or photos of the aftermath. The top lawyers will contact eyewitnesses and ask for their oral or written statements. They will also use public records to investigate the truck driver and trucking company’s backgrounds.
2. Send a preservation letter:
The lawyers will help you send a letter to the trucker, trucking company, and any other party involved in the crash. The letter will state that you have a legal claim and that they must preserve any potentially relevant evidence. Without a preservation letter, the evidence of the trucking accident might disappear instantly. Often, a trucking company will do everything they can to destroy records or the black box on many semi-trucks, which record what happened before, during, and after a crash.
3. Hire experts:
After considering all the facts of your case, your trusted violation of regulations truck accident lawyers will hire specialists in the medical, vocational, economic, and financial elements of the accident. Accident reconstruction and a trucking expert could also provide valuable inputs. The experts’ objective review and analysis of the evidence will help you get additional support for your claim for compensation.
4. Documenting and valuing damages:
From the beginning of the case, they will work with you to document your physical, financial, and psychological injuries. Therefore, to accurately calculate the value of your compensation, the lawyers will gather as much evidence as possible regarding the harm you have suffered.
5. Filing a lawsuit:
After preparing as thoroughly as possible, we will file a violation of regulations truck accident lawsuit for personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. It helps to use discovery to gather more evidence and help the attorney prepare for settlement negotiations or trial.
6. Negotiating the insurance settlement:
Many truck accident claims are resolved with an insurance settlement before trial. However, all the steps in the lawsuit process are crucial in preparing for these negotiations. A reliable lawyer will have a thorough understanding of what happened, who is responsible, and how much your damages are worth. In addition, they will take an aggressive approach to negotiations, so you don’t settle for less than your claim’s worth.
Benefits of the discovery phase
Before entering the settlement negotiations, you must collect and review all available evidence. Likely, most of the evidence is under the truck driver’s or trucking company’s control. The only way to get access to it is with the help of the discovery process.
Without filing a lawsuit for violating federal trucking regulations and going through discovery, you cannot depose the truck driver, acquire copies of the trucking company’s inspection and maintenance records, or obtain a copy of the truck’s electronic data. All of these are crucial to the success of your case.
Expert truck accident testimony is essential.
Along with the discovery, the other important trial preparation steps include hiring professionals, such as accident reconstructionist. The objective opinion of a third party can be very persuasive if you want to go before a jury.
Pre-trial motions
Many top lawyers also believe in aggressive motion practice. They use pre-trial motions to ask the judge to make important substantive and procedural decisions.
File a lawsuit with help from Ethen Ostroff Law
Filing a truck accident lawsuit for FMCSA violations will show the insurer that you are serious about your claim. In addition, it also proves to the insurer that you are not willing to accept just any low settlement offer. Instead, you are eager to put the insurer through the paces to get maximum compensation for your lawsuit.
Have you or a loved one been involved in a truck accident due to a violation of trucking regulations? Have you been diagnosed with serious, moderate, or catastrophic injuries due to the incident? At Ethen Ostroff Law, we understand that trucking accident victims may be in pain, angry, and frustrated. This is why we provide the best references to our clients to help them get a fair settlement for their Violations of Trucking Regulations Lawsuit.
